Ionic separator



Aug. 16, 1932. w HOMAN 1,872,591

IONIC SEPARATOR Filed Aug. 15, 1927 '5 Sheets-Sheet 1' W 45 Ni W 44WALTER Ham 3141mm or I H v aiitozncq 1932 I w. A. HOMAN 1,872,591

I IONIC SEPARATOR Filed Aug. 1:5. 192? a Sheets-Shee t 2 i gwuento'aAug, 16, 1932. HOMAN 1,872,591

IONI C SEPARATOR WA! rm A. Mama/v.

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT" 1 OFFICE W ALTER As HO MAN,01 DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOB To I-O. SEPARLTOB COMPANY,

OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION y v roiuc smaaa'ron A pplicationfiled August 18, 1927. Serial No. 212,749.

This invention relates to improvements in methods for the separation ofmaterials having dissimilar electrical properties.

g It is often desirable and necessary to separate different materialsand various methods are used for difierent purposes. Where the materialsto be separated difler in size, screens may be employed; where theyditfer in specific gravity the separation may be accomplished by meansthat takes advantage of this property and where the chemical propertiesare di'flerent, some chemical method may be employed. 1 It oftentimes-happens,'however, that the materials to be separated must be ground tosubstantially the same size and that they have such similar physicalproperties that the ordinary methods of separation cannot besuccessfully employed and for such materials my present methodisespecially well.

adapted.

, varying in accordance with It iswell known that different substanceshave different electrical properties and can be arranged in accordancewith these properties into a series in which any two elements, whenbrought into contact, will becomedissimilarlycharged, the difference ofpotentia the distance the materials are apart in this series. Gold andsilver paper, the former coated on one-side with copper foil and thelatter with tin 'foil and placed together with their metallic sidesoutward and piled to the extent of several hundreds or several thousandsin suchvmanner that the copperof all pairs are turned in the samedirection, will produce a d pile capable of charging Leyden jars and 0producing shocks.

It is well understood now that when any two bodies not exactly the samein both chem f ical constitution-and molecular arrangement are broughtinto contact electrification will occur and one willbecome positive andthe other negative.

It is not necessary to subject the materials the other negative,

1: tial electricity,

OOIlSlStS in first reducing the material to friction or rubbingto causeelectrification.- but merely to bring them into intimate contact, suchas will occur if the materials are put into a container and subjected tovibration.

1 The condition of the surface of-the substances exercises an influenceover their electncal pro erties andfor this reason if ished glass isrubbed with'a. piece of rough glass, the former will become charged withpositive electricity and the latter with negative electricity.-

Electrification or ionization is also influa piece of po enced bpressure temperature and v other electrica rays, etc. I

It is well known that a body charged with positive electricity willattract a body charged with negative electricity and will manifestationssuch as ultraviolet w repel a'bodylcharged with positiveelectrictherefore evident that if a mix dissimilar materials are ionizedto make one positive and y and then passed through an electrostaticfield adjacent a body charged. with either positive or negative highpoten that there will be a tendency to cause a separation of .thedifferently charged particles; As the forces produced are small, theparticles mustv be free to move and for thispurpose mustvbe insuspension as they are when falling under the influence of ,gravity orrising under the influence of a sudden impact.

My improved method, briefly describekd to to small particles by 'somesuitis ture of two N or electrified so as materials from each other,then subjecting the materials to the action of'an agitator 5 whichcauses them to come into contact with each other and tobecome ionized orelectrified, one becomin positively charged and the other negativel ycharged, and then'passv ing the ionized material through an electro- 00the apparatus has been illustrated and in which: v

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection taken on line 22, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3'is a section taken on line 33, Fig. 2 and shows in addition theelectrical apparatus employed.

In the drawingsnumeral 1 represents an agitator .or ionizer which hasbeen shown. as consisting of a cylindrical drum formed from wood stavesor ofany other suitable nonconducting material. In the constructionillustrated nonconducting lates 2 are placed between some of the woostaves and project inwardly towards the center of the drum in the mannershown in Fig.2. The staves are held in place by hoops 3, of which theremay be as many as are found to be necessary. The agitator drum isprovided with one or more slots 4'which extend parallel with the axis onwhich the drum rotates.

The drum is also provided with a door 5, which is secured to the outsideof the drum by means of hinges 6 and which can be held in closedposition-by the latch 7 (Fig. 1).

Door 5 serves to close an opening which can be opened whenever materialis to be introduced into the interior of the drum.

Located directly beneath the drum is a chute which has inclined sides 8that terminate in spaced parallel flanges 9 that form a slot or opening.When the material leaves the drum through one of the slots 4, it fallsinto the chute and is directed downwardly ontothe upper surface of aninclined belt 15 is vertical.

10. This belt may be made of rubber or any other non-conducting materialand has been shown as passing over rollers 11, 12 and 13 which arearranged so that the axes on which these rollers rotate are located atthe vertices of a rightangle triangle, whose base 14 is horizontal andwhose adjacent side The side of the belt to which the numeral 10 isattached forms the hypothenuse' of the triangle and is inclined, in theexample shown, at an angle between thirty and forty degrees. .The actualangle that the upper side of the belt makes with the horizontal is notof any particular importance, but is determined by experimenta tion soas to produce the best results for .the material with which the deviceis to be used.

A trough having a fiat bottom 16 and spaced parallel sides 1 the belt inthe manner shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This trough is supported from theside walls 18 by means of coil springs 19 of which there may be as manyas desired. Secured to the under side of the bottom member 16 aretwobrackets 20 to the lower ends of which armatures 21 are connected.Located adjacent each armature is the pole piece 22 of an electromagnet23. This electromagnet may be energized by means of an alternating or aninterrupted current so as to exert a series of impulses that efi'ect thearmature 21 and causes the trough to vibrate. As the belt 10 rests onthe upper surface of the trough, this vibration is transmitted to thebelt with the result that it also vibrates. Means isprovided forrotating the rollers 11, 12 and 13 in a clockwise direction as indicatedby the arrows and this causes the belt to. move upwardly along thebottom of the trough. Beneath the bottom 16 of the trough is a plate 24of conducting material. This has been shown as enclosed on all sides bymeans of an insulating covering 25. In Fig. 3 I have shown the plate 24ponnected by means of a conductor 26 toa stationary terminal 27. Asynchronous motor 28 is connected to a source of alternating current 29by means of conductors 3'0. These conductors terminate in brushes 31that contact with slip rings 32 carried by the shaft 33. Another set ofbrushes 84 also connects with the slip rings and from these conductors'35 extend to the primary coil 36 of a transformer.

The second'ar coil of this transformer has been indicate bynumeral37 andhas one end ground at 38, the other end is connected to a rotatingcommutator having one or more segments 39 that either contact with orcome into close proximity to the stationary terminal 27 once during eachcycle of the alternating current. This mechanism constitutes a rectifierthat delivers unidirectional current to the plate 24 so that this can bemaintained at ahigh potential of either positive or negative electricityas the case may be. The potential to vvhich the plate 24 is raised ishigh and therefore there will be an electrostatic field surroundingplate 24 on all sides. As above pointed out a particle that is chargedpositively will be repelled by another conductor that is chargedpositively but will be attracted if the conductor is charged negatively.It is now apparent that if a plurality of particles are deposited on theupper surface of the belt and that some of these are charged-withpositive electricity, while others are charged with negativeelect'ricity, that either one or the other of these particles will beattracted by the charged conembraces the upper part of wi l be repelled,while particles carrying a tiononly and the preferably made of negativecharge will'be attracted. This assumption is made for the purpose ofexplanae operation of the machine is exactly-the same, regardless of thepolarity of plate 24. In Fig. 3 I have shown the plate 24 supported bymeans of brackets 40 which are insulating material so as to prevent theescape; of electricity. Located adjacent that part of the belt whichpasses around roller 11, is a metallic screen 41 that is supported invertical position by any suitable means. To the other side 0 this screenare located three rollers 42, 43 and 44 which are preferably made ofinsulating material. The axes about which rollers 42 and 43 rotate arelocated in a vertical plane. A belt 45 of insulating material enclosesthe rollers in the'nianner shown. Located within the triangular spaceformed by belt 45 is a conductor 24a which corresponds to the conductorplate 24 and this is enclosed in an insulating cover 25m Plate 24a, likeplate. 24, is connected by means of a conductor, not shown, to theconductor 26 so that conductor plates 24 and 2411 will be charged withhigh potential electricity of the same potential and polarity. Screen 41'is attached to the side members 18 by means ofrods 46 that pass throughthe side membersand which permits the screen to be reciprocated in alongitudinal direction. A spring 47 is attached to the outer ends of oneof these rods and tends to move the screen 41 towards the left, (Fig. 1)until the stop 48 engages the outer surface of the wall 18. One of therods46 on the lefthand side of the frame, Fig. 1, carries an armature 49that is located close to, but is outof contact with the pole piece 50 ofan electromagnet 51. This electromagnet, like electromagnets 23., isenergized by means of an alternating current or by an interruptedcurrent so that it Wlll periodically exert a force on thearmature 49which will cause the screen 41 to reciprocate. In Fig. 3 I have shown analternating current source 52 which is connected' by means of conductors53 with the electro magnets 23 and which mayalso serve to fur-' gishelectricity for the operation of magnet The drum 1 is rotatable about anaxis 54 to the outer end of which is secured a belt wheel 55, roller 12rotates about an axis- 56 to the outer end of which a belt wheel 57 isattached, while roller 42 rotates about an axis 58 which carries a beltWheel 59. Power 1s applied to the belt wheels55, 57 and 59, separately,so that the different parts can be rotated at any speed that may befoundto be most suitable. The drum 1- mav rotate in either direction as thedirection of rotation of this element is immaterial. The.

' power should be applied to beltslO and 45 f by a static field belt 10moves upwardly while the vertical surface of belt 45 moves downwardly;

Let'us now assume that the parts are assembled in the manner describedand that magnets 23 and 51 are energized by means of an alternatingcurrent which causes the trough carrying the armatures 21 to vibrate andwhich also causes the screen 41 to vibrate in the manner described. Letus further assume that conductor plates 24 and 24a are energized bymeans of a very high potential positive current so that they aresurrounded of great intensity.

Let us now furthermore assume that the drum 1 contains powderedmaterial, such as oil shale ground to such an extent that the kerogen isfreed from the clay. Oil shale is composed of kerogen and a species ofclay.

The kerogen carries. the hydrogen carbon contents, while the clay has noparticular value as far as the production of oil shale is concerned. Ihave found .that, when a finely ground oil shale is agitated as it willbe when drum 1 is rotated, this agitation will cause the particles ofkerogen to be ionized or electrified to one polarity, whereas the claywill be electrified to the opposite polarity. For the purpose of thisexplanation,

the kerogen will be considered as carrying positive electricity, whilethe clay will be come charged negatively. When the particles ofelectrified clay and kerogen fall downwardly onto the moving belt 10,the clay particles will be attracted by the positive charge on plate 24,while the kerogen particles will be repelled. As the bottom 16 of thetrough and the belt 10 which rests upon it are subjected to a high rateof vibration by means of the electromagnets 23, the particles will becontinuously thrown upwardly and will therefore part of the time, besuspended in the air. During this period of suspension they will beacted upon by the mutual force between the charge plate 24 and thediffer ently charged particles. This force will tend to repel thepositive particles and attract the negative ones and the latter willtherefore have a tendency to travel upwardly with the belt, while therepelled particles will take a downward course and finally reach thelower point of belt 10 adjacent the screen 41. If a thorough separationcannot be had on the inclined surface of the belt 10- alone, theparticles that arrive at the bottom of the inclined surface Will containboth positive and negatively charged particles. These particles willthen be acted upon by aforce due to the positivecharge on plate 24a.This charge will tend'to attract the negative particles and to repel thepositive particles which will therefore separate. The negative particleswill pass through the screen 41 and will finally be deposited in achamber A. The positive particles will not be attracted by the positivecharge and will there-. w

fore pass downwardlyinto chamber B, butif positive and negativeparticles should adhere to each other, these groups will be separated byimpact with' screen 41 whereupon the negative particles will passthrough the screen and the positive ones will fall into chamber B. Inactual practice the bottoms of chambers. A. and B communicate withconveyors or chutes which conduct the material to proper receptacleswhere it may be stored. The material may be subject to as many differentseparations as may be desired, but the two steps shown are considered tobe suflicient for the purpose of explaining this method, as the additionof more steps to the separation will merely be duplications of what hasalready been described. A scraper 62 is located in close proximity tothe outer surface of belt 45 in the manner shown in Fig. 2. This servesto remove from the belt any material that may adhere to it.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced asimple method by means of which it is possible to separate materials ofthe same degree of fineness and which may have the same specific gravityand which would therefore not be suitable for separation by any of theordinary means that depends upon screens or which utilize the momentumof the particles or their inertia.

able for use in connection with any dissimilar materials, but isespecially well adapted for use in connection with oil shale as by theemployment of this method it becomespos sible to separate the kerogenwhich carries the hydrocarbon from the inert matter of the oil shale andbv so doing it becomes unnecessary to heat the large amount of inertmatter in order to remove the hydrocarbon content from the ke-rogen.After the oil 1 shale has been separated by means of the method andapparatus above described, the,

hydrocarbon content can be ,removed very quickly "and with acomparatively small expenditure of heat. I

The apparatus described above is merely illustrative of a type ofapparatus which can beemployed for the carrying out of this process andhas therefore been shown more or less diagrammatically as the onlyobject of presenting a drawing is to more clearly distinguish betweenthe several elements and the several steps of the method.

Although I have shown and described a sreen 41 this is not alwaysessential. Where the particles have been highly electrified, they have atendency to stick together so as to form a ball. When thevibrations ofthe belt 10 are insufficient to separate the particles, the screen 41assists in attaining this separation.

' It is also possible to entirely eliminate belt 10 and the rollerswhich cooperate with As above intimated, this method is suit-.

and the separation will be effected by means of the belt 45 andtheelectrostatic field due to the conductor 24a. 4

If the belt 10 is omitted and the conductor 24 retained, a separatingaction will take place in the trough; the material that is electrifiedto the same polarity as the plate passing downwardly into chamber B,while the oppositely charged material is retained in the trough. v

In the drawings belt 10 has been shown as formed into a right angletriangle, but this is, of course, unnecessary as the shape of thetriangle is-immaterial and as many rollers as desired may be used, butthere is the minimum that can conveniently be employed for this purpose.

It is possible to ionize the material by means of ultra violet rays andthus to dis pense with the agitator 1, which will then serve as afeeder, and in Fig. 2 I have shown a source 60 of ultra violet rays. 1

Although I have shown belt 10 as moving upwardly or in the directionofthe arrow, I want to call attention to the fact that the direction ofmovement of this belt may be reversed, if desired. When the belt ismoving in the direction shown, the material which is agitated by thebelt will be agitated for a longer time than if the direction ofmovement s reversed and should therefore be employed with materials thatare hard to separate but when the materials separate easily, thedirectionof movement of the belt can be reversed and the capacitythereby increased.

The belt has been shown as moving in the direction of its inclination,either upwardly or downwardly, but it can be made to run at right anglesto the direction of its inclination as theimportant'part is that thereshall be am'iiiclined movable surface that is vibrated so as to agitatethe materials that are being separated.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new is:

1. The method of separating materials having different electricalproperties which consists in reducing the materials to a powder,subjecting the powdered mixture to agitation whereby the particlesbecome ionized, the particles of one material becoming chargedpositively and the particles of the other material negatively, causingsaid material to be suspended in the air for a short" time. andsubjecting the material while so suspended to the influence of anelectrostatic field of a given potential'whereby the particles will besubjected to a force that tends to separate the positively charged onesfrom the cal properties comprising, in combination, means for ionizingthe materials so that some particles will be positive and othersnegative, a conveyor of insulating material, means for directing theionized.- particles onto the conveyor, an electrode of a given polaritylocated adjacent the conveyor and means for projecting the material intothe air when it passes through the electrostatic field whereby thedifierently charged particles will be separated. i

In testimony whereof I affix mfi si ature;

WALTER A. O N.

